The collection of type specimens belonging to the subfamily Pimeliinae (Coleoptera, Tenebrionidae) in the Natural Sciences Museum of Barcelona, Spain

Viñolas, A.Caballero-López, B.Masó, G.

Abstract

The collection of type specimens belonging to the subfamily Pimeliinae (Coleoptera, Tenebrionidae) in the Natural Sciences Museum of Barcelona, Spain

The type collection of the subfamily Pimeliinae (Coleoptera, Tenebrionidae) deposited in the Natural Sciences Museum of Barcelona, Spain, was organised, revised and documented. The collection contains 438 type specimens representing 140 different taxa. Of note is a considerable number of species belonging to a subfamily described by Francesc Español, Maurice Antoine, Zoltán Kaszab and Carlo Koch. In this paper we provide all the available information relating to these type specimens and for all taxa (species or subspecies) we give the following information: original and current taxonomic status, original citation of type material, the exact transcription of the original label, and the pres-ervation condition of the specimen. We also discuss the differences between the original descriptions and labels. If a taxonomic change has occurred, the references describing those changes are included at the end of the description.

Introduction

The arthropod collections in the Natural Sciences Museum of Barcelona (MCNB), Catalonia, Spain, house over 1.9 million specimens of arthropods, of which almost half are beetles (Coleoptera, Hexapoda). A dec-ade ago we began to study the type specimens as part of an on-going effort to publish the types of all of the MCNB arthropod collection. The first collections to be revised were: Ptinidae (Coleoptera): 8,854 specimens and 498 taxa (Viñolas & Masó, 2013); Carabidae (Coleoptera): 431 specimens and 156 taxa (Viñolas & Masó, 2014); Dytiscidae, Histeridae, Hydraenidae and Staphylinidae (Coleoptera): 130 specimens and 66 taxa (Viñolas et al., 2014); and the superfamilies Scarabaeoidea, Buprestoidea, Byrrhoidea, Elateroidea, Cleroidea, Cucujoidea, Tenebrionoidea (except Tenebrionidae), Chrysomeloidea and Curculionoidea (Coleoptera): 533 specimens and 170 taxa (Viñolas et al., 2016a).

Here we discuss a fifth group, the subfamily Pimeliinae (Tenebrionidae), containing 438 specimens and 140 taxa. Due to the large number of taxa it includes, the Tenebrionidae family was divided into subfamilies that will be discussed in this and future notes. The collection consists mainly of species described by specialists in this family, including Maurice Antoine, Paul Ardoin, Francesc Español, Heinz Freude, Zoltán Kaszab, Carlo Koch, Hans Kulzer, Mary-Louise Penrith and Franklin Pierre. The identification of further type specimens is the result of research carried out by a number of the Museum’s collaborators, including Rafael Obregón, Pere Oromí, Juan José López Pérez, Antonio Verdugo and Amador Viñolas. Many older species had no designated holotype or lectotype and so, if not previously designated, a syntype was chosen. The depository Museum or institution of the typical series has now been indicated.

The collection of the subfamily Pimeliinae (Tenebrionidae) was reorganised during this revision. Registration numbers were added to all dried specimens. The type specimens database was updated and will soon be available in GBIF.

Methodology

Each type specimen included in this revision is described using all available information regarding both its original and current taxonomic status. If any taxonomic change has occurred, a brief discussion is included. The references that discuss these changes are included in the Bibliography. The systematics of Bouchard et al. (2011) is followed at suprageneric level and modern revisions have been consulted for each taxonomic group.

The following information was examined and included for each taxon with type specimens in the Museum’s collection:

Original status: original taxonomic status

Present status: only if it has changed

Original type material citation: the literal transcription of the material type as given in the original publication is placed in guillemets « »

Localities of type material in MCNB: localities of type specimens deposited in the collection with current toponyms

Holotype depositary: the private or institutional collection in which the holotype is deposited, given in parentheses (—) if unknown

Type material: all the data on the label are quoted unless illegible ([?]); sex of each specimen, given in parentheses (—) if unknown; square brackets [ ] indicate the beginning and the end of the label, vertical bars are used to indicate the end of a line (|), a space is used between labels (] [) and a full stop between mounts (.). Additional information is added in parentheses: extracted aedeagus, separate abdomen, and comments about the preservation status of the specimen

Remarks: discrepancies between the original description and the specimen labels are mentioned herein. Other specific considerations may also be included

References: when a taxonomic change has occurred, the references that discuss these changes are listed.

Acronyms of institutional and private collections mentioned in the text: Institutional collections

HNHM. Hungarian Natural History Museum, Budapest, Hungary

MCSNT. Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Torino, Italy

MCNB. Museu de Ciències Naturals de Barcelona, Spain

MCNT. Museo de Ciencias Naturales de Tenerife, Spain

MGFM. Museum G. Frey, München, Germany

MNB. Museum für Naturkunde, Berlin, Germany

MNHN. Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Paris, France

MRACT. Musée Royal de l’Afrique Centrale, Tervuren, Belgium

MZB. (Museu de Zoologia de Barcelona) Museu de Ciències Naturals de Barcelona, Spain

NMNH. National Museum of Natural History (Smithsonian Institution), Washington, United States of America

Acknowledgements

Many thanks for the help and financial support provided in the review and reorganization of the collection of type specimens to: Anna Omedes, Director of the Natural Sciences Museum of Barcelona; Dacha Atienza, Collection Head and Research; Eulàlia Garcia Franquesa, Curator Head; and Montserrat Navarro and Emma Asensio for their help in the bibliographical search. We also owe many thanks to Josep Muñoz Batet for reviewing the final manuscript and idiomatic notes.